When the text came up on the screen, they discovered that Josef had written a detailed account of that day:
“In the days leading up to my twenty-first birthday Karl Helmick, the man whom I had always known as my father, promised me that on that day he would present me with the most wonderful gift I had ever imagined. As fate would have it, he kept his word—although not in the way he had intended.
“Early that morning he sent me on a fool’s errand at the far end of the property. I knew at once that he was only sending me away so that my gift could be delivered and he could ‘surprise’ me later in the day at my party. However, I pretended not to know and did not return to the compound until noon.
“Upon my return, I knew at once that Karl was disposing of a human body in the crematorium. When one is frequently subjected to the odor of burning flesh, he is soon able to differentiate between the scent of burning cattle and that of burning men. At first I thought that it was one of the boys who had proven to be defective, but I soon learned the truth. Karl had invited Alexander Sinclair to come to Doppelganger so that he could enlist his help in a scheme that Karl had devised to clone himself and, thus, gain eternal life. When Sinclair, who was a fool by anyone’s standards, refused, Karl killed him and had his body removed to the crematorium.
“Karl then sent his driver to Santa Fe to bring Sinclair’s wife to Doppelganger so that he could dispose of her as well. Karl assured me that she, too, was dead but whether she had already been placed into the crematorium, I do not know. It made no difference; within an hour all of Doppelganger would become a crematorium.
“Karl called me into his office and began to reminisce about his youth and his love for Josef Mengele, an SS doctor who had served at Auschwitz. He rambled on for some time, though I did not hear most of what he said, but then he told me something that changed my life. He said that I was Josef Mengele—a perfect clone who had been formed from the great doctor’s DNA. I was astounded and very pleased. For the first time in my life I felt free—free from the control that Karl had always exerted over me, free from his expectations, free from him. I knew at once that this was my opportunity to make my freedom permanent.
“As I thought about the implications of Karl’s living forever in the form of a succession of his own clones, I became enraged. He intended to keep me under his boot. He intended to control my every movement for all eternity. I would not allow that to happen! Quickly I stepped behind his chair, and with one swift motion I snapped his neck. His bones were old and brittle, and they gave way under my hands like a small bundle of dry twigs.
“I then activated the system that Karl had built into every building at Doppelganger so that in case of an emergency he could set off a chain reaction that would demolish every structure on the premises and ignite an inferno that would destroy all traces of our activities there.
“From a small hill overlooking Doppelganger I watched as the buildings collapsed and burst into flame. I had never felt such power as I felt at that moment. I knew then that no one would ever again presume to control me. I would live as I chose, I would do as I pleased, and no one would be able to stand against me!”
That was all that Josef had written. The brothers sat silently staring at the screen as if they expected more. But there was no more. Those few short paragraphs told the story they had been seeking since their twenty-first birthdays, but it was not the story they had expected to find. They had always been so sure that Josef had killed their parents; it seemed inconceivable that Karl was their murderer. They had always despised Josef, but because their father had trusted Karl, they had trusted him too. Only their mother had seen Karl Helmick for what he was—an evil old man without conscience who would sacrifice anyone to achieve his goals. Their mother had also been right about Karl’s cloning activities; he had been cloning humans. She had suspected that all the children at Doppelganger were clones; she was even convinced that Josef Helmick was a clone of Josef Mengele. Their father had always told her that she was wrong, but, in the end, it had been he whom Karl had deceived.
Jarrod spoke first, “Mom was right.”
“Yeah,” Joshua replied, “she was right about pretty much everything.”
“She was always right,” Jarrod responded. “She would come out with some things that we thought were pretty off the wall, but she always turned out to be right. How could Dad have been so sure that Karl wasn’t cloning humans?”
“I don’t know. I guess because he liked Karl so much he refused to see the truth.”
The brothers again fell silent. They had believed that when they finally had proof of what had happened that final day at Doppelganger they would feel a sense of triumph. They had imagined that they would have closure concerning their parents’ deaths, but they found no victory in Josef’s account. It changed nothing. Their parents were dead, and nothing could bring them back. The man who had killed them was also dead. It was true that Josef’s account proved that he had detonated the explosives that had killed everyone else at Doppelganger, but his was not the hand that had taken their parents’ lives. They had spent all of their adult lives chasing a ghost.
Chapter 33
The next morning Jarrod was already seated in the living room of their hotel suite in Dubai when Joshua opened the door of his bedroom. “Were you able to sleep?” Joshua asked.
“Off and on. How about you?”
“I was awake most of the night. GenCEN has already called in Interpol and the FBI; we have to turn over all of this evidence immediately, or we can be charged with withholding information pertaining to a genetic crime.”
“Yes, I know. I want you to turn over all of the chips to them. They will arrive within hours after you tell them what we have. In the meantime, make a copy of the chip telling about Mom and Dad’s death. I want us to keep it so that we won’t ever start questioning what we saw yesterday.”
“Are you going somewhere?” Jarrod inquired.
Joshua was silent for a few moments before he answered. “I have hated Josef my entire life. I know that you could take him or leave him, but not me. From the first day I laid eyes on him I wanted to smash his face in. That’s why I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept feeling that God was leading me to find Josef and witness to him before GenCEN arrives to make the arrest.”
Jarrod stared at his brother in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Do you think Josef is going to sit politely while you tell him about salvation through Grace and then make a last-minute decision to accept Jesus?”
“No, I don’t. I expect him to laugh in my face, but I’m not responsible for what Josef does; I’m responsible for what I do. I wrestled with this all night, and I know that I have to be obedient. Pray for me that when I see him again I’ll be able to do what I was sent to do, because if I don’t have the Holy Spirit sustaining me, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”
“Josh! Josh! Josh!” Jarrod exclaimed, “All of the crazy genes must have passed through the placenta to your side. Why do you always have to do something like this? You’re crazy, but if we live long enough, you’ll drive me crazy too!”
“Will you do this for me?” Joshua asked his brother. “I need for you to give me an eight-hour head start. I’ve already called our pilots, and our jet will be ready for take-off when I arrive at the airport.”
“Of course. You knew I would before you asked.”
ψ
On the security monitor stationed on the desk in his study Josef saw the black SUV pull up at the gate of his Gstaad vacation home. He knew instantly that it was a special armored edition, and he watched with interest to see who would emerge. He was not afraid; he had been immune from police scrutiny at any level for so many years that it was inconceivable to him that anyone would attempt to intrude into his affairs. Still, as he watched the door open, he felt a slight thrill, as if a single drop of ice water were running down his spine. He could not see the face of the man who opened the door of the driver’s side and climbed out, but as soon as he saw the th
ick copper-colored hair and determined that the driver was well over six feet tall, he knew at once that it was one of the Sinclairs. It had been twenty-five years since he had seen either of the Sinclairs, but, instantly, the hate and rage that he had felt for them at their last meeting was back in full force. Josef waited to see the other brother emerge, but whichever one this was, he was alone.
Josef now felt that he had the advantage. He walked to the front door and threw it open before Joshua had a chance to ring the bell.
Josef stood staring at the man on his doorstep without saying a word.
“Josef, I’m Joshua Sinclair. I don’t know whether you remember me, but our fathers were friends, and we met when we were boys.”
Josef struggled to keep his composure. Joshua and Jarrod Sinclair were the two living people whom he hated more than anyone in the world. Through his contacts, Josef had kept abreast of their every move. He knew about GenTECH and their consulting work for law enforcement. He knew when each of them had married and the names and numbers of their children. He knew everything about them that it was possible for him to know.
Josef had longed for the moment when he would be able to exact his revenge on them for that day at Doppelganger when they had mocked him and treated him roughly. They had failed to recognize him as the future master of Doppelganger and had refused to acknowledge him as their superior.
Perhaps, during all of these years the Sinclair twins had not thought about him at all. That was the one eventuality for which Josef was entirely unprepared. “I think you are mistaken,” Josef replied. “I am certain that we have never met.”
“Well, we have,” Joshua countered, “and I need to talk to you. May I come in?”
Josef stepped aside and allowed Joshua to enter and then led him to the study.
Joshua walked to a large brown leather Chesterfield chair and sat down without waiting to be invited. Josef took a seat opposite him. Joshua took a deep breath and began, “Yesterday your Dubai apartment’s security was breached, and your records were confiscated. The chips have been decrypted and turned over to GenCEN. Last night Heinz Felhaber was arrested at his Swiss estate—or I should say your Swiss estate—and he is singing like a canary. Agents from GenCEN and Interpol are currently on their way here to arrest you. You will be taken into custody within hours.”
Josef’s mouth had opened slightly, and he stared at Joshua in horror and disbelief. “And I suppose you have come here to help me make my get-away? Even someone as unsophisticated as you cannot expect me to believe such obvious lies.”
“It’s the truth. And, no, I have not come to help you escape. I have come because, whatever the eventual outcome of the investigations, you are going to spend many years in prison. Even if you are eventually executed, and I believe that you will be, you are probably looking at fifteen to twenty years of appeals. I hope that you will use those years to get your spiritual life in order.”
Josef was now seething with anger. “You are insane! Do you really think that you can walk in here and tell me that I need to get religion and that I will fall on my knees and ask you to lead me to Jesus?”
“Actually, that’s exactly what my brother said when I told him I was coming here—almost verbatim.”
“You should have listened to him. Now get out of my house!”
“I’m not leaving until I say what I came here to say,” Joshua continued. “I want you to know that Jesus loves you. He hates the things you’ve done, but He loves you, and He’ll forgive you if you will truly repent and ask for His forgiveness.
“He has seen everything that has ever happened to you. You didn’t have a mother or a father; your life must have been very lonely, but He was always there, Josef. Jesus has been waiting for you to come to Him since the day you took your first breath. You possess intelligence and wealth and prestige, but you have chosen to waste those gifts. I have come here to tell you to seek Him with all your heart. You can never undo what you have already done, and you will pay for your crimes, but you can find the peace that has always eluded you.”
“Do you suppose that you are the first person to try to persuade me to become a Christian?” Josef asked with a voice as cold as steel.
“When I was ten years old your father came to Doppelganger do some work with Karl. One day he came upon me while I was walking on the grounds unescorted, and he told me about Jesus and about His love for me. I was disgusted and infuriated, but I never let him know. I pretended to listen, and when he had finished, I smiled at him. He never suspected that all the while he was talking I was imagining the different ways I could kill him and dispose of his body. He was such a fool!
“My education at Doppelganger included the study of all the world’s major religions. Karl said that I must understand the superstitions that drive men—even men who appear to possess intelligent scientific minds—if I were to fulfill my destiny. I know a great deal about Christianity; I dare say I could take you in a debate.”
“I’m not here to talk about religion,” Joshua countered. “I’m here to tell you what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To know His love is the greatest joy that anyone can experience. When you know Jesus, you are never alone; you are never without hope. He brings peace in the midst of despair and gives purpose to every life.”
“I have heard this before,” Josef replied. “A few years ago I was walking through the streets of Dubai when I saw a young woman preaching to a group of women and children. She was quite ugly—repulsive, really—but she was young, probably no more than fifteen. I stood at the edge of the crowd and waited for her to finish. When the other women had left, I approached her and told her that I wanted to know more about Jesus. She was so happy. I asked her if she would come to my apartment to talk to my wife and me about Jesus, and she eagerly agreed. When I had her inside, I told her that my wife was ill and asked if she would agree to go to her room to talk to her. She never suspected a thing until the door of my soundproof chamber slammed shut.
“She had eyes like a cow—large and brown and stupid. I have never enjoyed killing anyone as much as I enjoyed killing her. I kept her alive for two days stripping every inch of skin from her body while she begged Jesus to save her. Before she died she told me that her name was Rashin, and she said that she forgave me. It has been four years, and I still feel immense pleasure when I think about it. I suppose you are correct after all. Your Jesus has brought me a great deal of joy.”
Joshua reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a small New Testament and laid it on the table near his chair. Then he rose and walked from the room. When he was inside his car, he shut his eyes and bowed his head. “Dear, Jesus, I pray that Josef will read your word and that he will be saved.” As he drove away, Joshua realized that for the first time in twenty years he was finally free from the anger and hatred for Josef that had always held him captive.
Chapter 34
Josef had been sitting alone in his study with his head in his hands for the two hours since Joshua had left. It was over—everything was gone. His relationship with Nikolai and the Guardians had ensured him immunity from prosecution, but if GenCEN had arrested Felhaber and exposed their operations, that protection would evaporate like the morning mist. They would not wait for the authorities to act—they would kill him themselves. He was overwhelmed by feelings he had never before experienced—utter shock and disbelief. For the first time in his adult life he was no longer the master; he was a victim of forces more powerful than he.
What should he do? Where should he turn? He had never had any faith—any belief in anything spiritual. For all his protestations to the contrary, the crystal prisms were only a magician’s trick he used to control others. Where did a man who relied on neither God nor the devil, Heaven nor Hell, turn for help in his darkest moment? Josef, after all, possessed the secret to immortality, so he had never needed to concern himself with thoughts of the afterlife—something he would never experience.
He thought again of the
prism that Afshin had handled. Since that day, Josef had never looked into it. It remained shrouded in the black velvet purse where it rested safely in the bottom drawer of his exquisitely carved, oversized desk. The old man had told Josef that the prism would show him his future when he was ready to face it. Never had he needed to know what lay ahead of him more than now. Yes, that was the answer. He would look into the facets of the prism and see his own future, and then he would know how to seize control of his own destiny and reclaim everything that had been lost.
Going to the bar, he opened a bottle of wine tainted with Labyrinth. Until now he had never used the drug, but he knew that the time had come to allow it to do its work. Labyrinth would open his mind and allow him to see with perfect clarity. Through the facets of the prism he would access his own eternity.
The wine was a little murky in the glass, but Josef paid no heed. He drank deeply until he had drained the flute completely, and then he opened the velvet bag and positioned the prism in his palm. The crystals began to shimmer and glow, and he felt it grow warm in his hand. His hazel eyes focused on the facets, and within seconds he was transported from the library.
He was seven years old again, standing on the grounds of Doppelganger on a rainy evening. He could feel the rain splashing against his shoes as it hit the paved walkway and bounced upward. The thunder gave a loud crack, and lightning slashed the sky with a jagged white light. He and Peter were walking to the infirmary; Peter was holding the umbrella.
This was the night Eric had died. Karl had sent for him to be taken from his dormitory to the infirmary so that he could watch. Eric had already been strapped into a chair when Josef arrived, but the little boy was not fully aware of what was about to happen to him until he saw Josef standing in the doorway. Then his face took on a look of complete horror as Josef watched Peter inject Eric with the same lethal cocktail that Karl administered to faulty animals. The boy struggled desperately for air as his breathing constricted and finally shut down. The entire process had taken no more than a quarter of an hour. Eric was the first person Josef had ever watched die. Josef could see every contortion of Eric’s countenance—he could hear every gasp for breath. He remembered the ghastly look on the boy’s face when life finally left him.
The Force (The Kingdom Chronicles) Page 22
